The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Adult ballet reborn at conservatory in city
TORRINGTON — Three years ago, Shawna Hudak was missing her fun times as a Nutmeg Ballet student. So when she visited the Nutmeg Conservatory where her daughter studied, she had a great suggestion for her former teacher, Susan Szabo: “Let’s do it again.”
And that was the birth — rather, the rebirth — of Adult Ballet at the Nutmeg, an arts extension program geared to older men and women who want to enjoy the benefits of classical ballet training — regardless of whether they have taken a dance lesson in their lives.
“I thought that it would be great for all of us to be able to dance again,” Hudak said. “Just a fun way to get back into shape, because once you start ballet, it kind of stays with you.”
Adult ballet classes were introduced in 1974 by Nutmeg founder Sharon Dante. Szabo said, “My first class that Sharon ever gave me was the adult ballet class back in 1977. I eventually took that class over and really enjoyed it, enjoyed teaching the adults.”
But the classes were discontinued for a few years, until Hudak showed up. She had been a Nutmeg student in the 1980s.
“I was in ‘The Nutcracker’ every year,” she said. “I was everything from an angel on up to Young Clara. It was kind of a big deal in the ’80s.”
Her daughter performed in “The Nutcracker” this past season. And now, while her daughter studies at Nutmeg during the day, Hudak spends Monday nights “back at the barre” with other former Nutmeg students and first-time dancers.
“I think it’s a relaxing way to get your body back in shape,” she said. “You don’t necessarily need to know ballet. It’s just a wonderful experience, a wonderful way to have a little time for yourself.”
Hope Bourque, a Nutmeg student from 2003
to 2010, has been attending the adult classes for about two years. Even though it’s a 45-minute drive from her Simsbury home, she said, “I wanted to go back to my home studio, because Nutmeg has such a family feel to it, and that kind of brought me back.”
Bourque said, “It’s not a prima ballerina class, but we have a lot of fun and we take a lot of time focusing on things that you wouldn’t think of, like basic details. But you can be any level of dancer. The teachers make sure that if you’re an advanced dancer you could take further steps to make it a little harder. If you’re a beginner, you work with just the basics. But you’re all doing the same thing at different levels.”
Melissa Marks, of New York City and Litchfield, said in an email, “In the spring of 2018, after more than a half of a century of dreaming to being a ballet dancer, I walked into my first adult ballet class at the age of 57. I was so nervous because I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I needed to give it my best shot.
“In the beginning I felt silly, barely able to keep up with the class,” she said. “However I was determined to not give up. I stuck with it and since then, I have been consistently attending adult ballet classes. Just being in the studio is an amazing experience in itself, let alone dancing, and for that I am very grateful. At this point, it is one of the brightest spots of my week that I always look forward to.”
When Hudak suggested restarting the adult classes, Szabo almost immediately agreed.
“It really took off, and I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It gave me a different perspective on teaching, going back to when I started teaching, which was to the adults. I teach the classes the majority of the time, but we have guest teachers, including Victoria Mazzarelli, Joan Kunsch and Donna Bonasera.”
Mazzarelli is Nutmeg’s artistic director. Kunsch is associate artistic director. Bonasera, who teaches the current Monday night classes, is artistic director at Connecticut Dance Theatre, teaching artist at Nutmeg Conservatory, and ballet teacher at Torrington School of Ballet (TSOB), Reach for the Stars Academy of Dance, and Ballet Theatre Company. Szabo is director of the TSOB and children’s ballet mistress.
Szabo recalls how one woman overcame her lack of self-confidence as a result of the classes.
“We do movements across the floor, which is very intimidating to some adults,” she said. “I would say, ‘OK, start in this corner and walk to the other corner all by yourself.’ I had one woman turn to me and say, ‘I can’t do that.’ I said, ‘You can do that, you really can.’ And so she walked across the floor all by herself. And two weeks later, she was jumping and leaping across the floor and having a ball.”
Mazzarelli said, “I think it’s good to open Nutmeg to the community and work with not only former students but also new students in adult ballet. It’s never too late to start dancing.”
The Classical ballet training the adult classes offer are intended to help develop strength, flexibility and balance at a comfortable pace. It includes barre work, center stretching and flowing movements across the floor. Students are encouraged to dress comfortably. Ballet slippers are required and can be purchased at the Dance Shop at 62 Main St., adjacent to the Conservatory.
Adult Ballet at the Nutmeg is held in the Premier Studio at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, 58 Main St., Monday evenings from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. A 10-session class card is $150, and individual drop-in classes are $20 each. Proceeds from these classes will go toward construction of the newly designed set that will be debuted in the Nutmeg’s 50th anniversary 2019 production of “The Nutcracker.”
For details on registering for adult classes, call 860-482-4413 or email info@nutmegconservatory.org.